“I like that a lot, but what I like better is seeing (cornerbacks) Shareece Wright and (Marcus) Gilchrist a year into it, knowing what to do,” Turner said. “I like seeing (outside linebackers Antwan) Barnes and Shaun Phillips healthy and (Melvin) Ingram in there, rushing.

“We did not make enough big plays on defense. We did not create enough negative plays for the other side. I think we have more guys who are going to make those kinds of plays."

Give the ball back to that offense.

It'd be a welcome sight.

During their two-year playoff drought, the Chargers have forced the NFL's fifth-fewest turnovers. It's a stark contrast from 2004 to 2009, when the franchise had the league's second-most takeaways over that six-year span, making the playoffs in five of them.

Turner says he sees a lot of old in the new Chargers, including at outside linebacker.

Jarret Johnson in free agency and Ingram in the draft are both considered upgrades. They join Phillips and Barnes, the top outside pass rushers last year, and help supplant Travis LaBoy, who started a career-high 14 games in 2011 and was released last month.

Despite missing the start of OTAs with a minor groin injury, English's past month-plus of offseason workouts have drawn positive reviews from the coaching staff.

"After this six-week period of time," Turner said, "we're closer to being back where we were maybe in 2007 and 2008 when we had a lot of different guys who could make plays at the outside linebacker position. You're able to keep guys fresh, which we did back then. And then if you do have an injury where a guy misses two or three weeks, bang, there's someone you can roll in, and he's playing ...

"I know people always see me as an offensive guy, but I'm rooting for guys to make plays. If it's on defense, it's in the kicking game or on offense, I want to get better. I think we've gotten better in all three phases, and I think we'll continue to get better."